Mangaluru: Demanding the arrest of the accused in the Bajrang Dal activist Prashanth Poojary murder case and “seeking justice” for the Hindu community, the Dakshina Kannada unit of BJP will stage a protest on Tuesday, October 20 near Town Hall in Mangaluru.
Party leaders BS Yeddyurappa, R Ashok, Eshwarappa, Jagadish Shettar, Prahlad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje and Suresh Kumar are likely to participate in the protest.
Addressing the media at the BJP head office in the city, on Friday, October 16, district MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the Congress government in the state has been playing vote bank politics. Citing seven incidents that took place in the recent past in Dakshina Kannada, he complained that the police, having succumbed to political pressure, have remained inactive and have not taken any action against any of the accused.
Alleging the role of the Home Ministry in the injustice to the Hindu community in DK, he said that the police here are hand-in-glove with Home Minister KJ George, who has made the police department a puppet in his hands. “If Minister George is incapable of maintaining peace and justice, he better resign,” Kateel added.
Muslims murdered Poojary in retaliation of slaughterhouse attack?
Kateel said that when a group of rightwing activists had attacked a slaughter house in Moodbidri few months ago, the Muslim youth held a protest, condemning the act.
In a fit of anger, Hafiz, one of the speakers, had declared that he and his group would murder the rightwing activists responsible for the attack on the slaughter house at the same place. “Prashanth’s murder at the said spot could well be the outcome of their retaliation,” Nalin said, suspecting the role of Muslim youth in the murder of Prashanth.
Death of prime witness a ploy to destroy evidence
When asked about the death of Vaman Poojary who was the prime witness in the murder of Prashanth Poojary, Kateel hinted at the possibility of a murder saying, “Poojary’s death was nothing but a ploy to destroy evidence.”
Vaman Poojary, a tender coconut merchant, had a shop adjacent to Prashanth Poojary’s shop. According to reports, Vaman was present at the time of the crime on October 9. On Thursday evening, October 15, Vaman’s body was found hanging in a shed at his daughter’s residence near Swaraj Maidan in Moodbdiri.
The protest will begin with the garlanding of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at 9 am and will continue till 5pm.
